The first session ran from the 23rd of February to the 6th of March while the second lasted from the 20th of April to the 2nd of June. Representatives from the United States, Britain, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands worked together during these periods.
Representatives from the United States, Britain, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands worked together at the conference. No Soviet delegate attended these closed-door discussions because Moscow refused to participate in meetings that excluded them from decision-making processes.
Moscow refused to participate in meetings that excluded them from decision-making processes following the London Conference. Their withdrawal marked a clear break in four-power cooperation over Germany because they had been left out of the six-power talks.
France voted for merging three western occupation zones under specific conditions requiring the Saarland region to be financially merged with France. The Ruhr area became subject to international control as another French requirement to address security concerns regarding German industrial capacity.
Military governors instructed leaders to convene a constitutional Assembly known as the Parliamentary Council to found a free and democratic state across the western zones. This body produced the Frankfurt Documents which laid the groundwork for what would become the Federal Republic of Germany.